Each year ERD joins forces with other federal (United States Coast Guard), state (Washington State’s Department of Ecology), and private (Marine Spill Response Corporation, Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, Exxon-Mobil, and DH Environmental) partners to deliver a series of spill response courses to tribal communities along Washington’s outer coast. The course emphasizes human safety when working with hazardous materials (e.g. spilled oil) and gives students hands on experience deploying various types of spill response equipment. This annual effort gives first responders in these remote locations the knowledge required to safely and effectively contribute to a response.